There are lots of Donald Jr.’s in the world, but only one who is the son of the Donald, as in Donald Trump Sr. We caught up with the familial apprentice at Michael’s restaurant in Manhattan, where Trump Jr. had come to lunch, accompanied by his publicist, Richard Rubenstein. Richard, perhaps fittingly, is the son of well-known publicist Howard Rubenstein, who has represented the Donald over the years. Young Rubenstein, it soon becomes clear, is along to make sure that Donald Jr. remains perpetually aware of his Trumpness as he begins to talk with Condé Nast Portfolio about life in the fast lane (and in his father’s shadow).

Recently promoted by the Donald to executive vice president for development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, Donald Jr. is considered to be next in line to take over his father’s real estate empire. While one of his current projects is overseeing the construction of Trump Soho, a luxury high-rise hotel in downtown Manhattan, he had just returned from a series of whirlwind trips to Asia and the Middle East, where the company is also looking to develop properties. But not long after he had announced the creation of a hedge fund to invest $1 billion in what had been India’s hot real estate market, the U.S. and global markets began to melt down, causing him to offer a reassessment of the Trump Organization’s near-term prospects. Our interview, which began at the restaurant, continued through a rainy tour of the Trump Soho project.

How are you weathering the current market crisis?
It’s going to be bad, and it’s going to be bad for quite some time. We haven’t been investing substantial equity in many projects for the past couple of years because we didn’t want to be competing with stupid money. We’re in a good position because we haven’t been long much in the past few years. We’ll look for the opportunities that will present themselves. For companies like ours with a strong cash balance, cash will be king and we’ll see a lot of good opportunities for pennies on the dollar. We’re not overly leveraged like we have been in the past.

Are there any new deals in the pipeline in this environment?
Big landowners are coming to us and saying, “Can you come in?” They know we have a lot of cash, and we add premium because of the brand. So we’re seeing a tremendous amount of deal flow, but it’s still not going well for anyone. Today, to try to build or sell anything is virtually impossible. If you adjust for inflation, you’re not going to hit the 2005 peak for years. People are saying it won’t be like 1930, but all of a sudden it’s like 1930. Valuations across the board are coming down.

Could you have seen this crash coming?
I didn’t think it was going to be this bad, but it had to happen. Everything else has been overvalued for so long.

You just got back from Kazakhstan. How much do you travel?
My passport reads like a phone book, especially now that so much of what’s going on in the world is going on in emerging markets. Yes, I just got back from the land of Borat. They’re getting $2,000 a square foot for certain high-end properties. When I was there, a home just sold for $20 million.